Saturday, April 27, 2013

WARNING: a little bit of naughty language in both the parody (embedded at the top of this post) and the original (embedded below.)

Back to our regularly scheduled blog next week with a report from the InterActivity Children's Museum Conference in Pittsburgh!

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Saturday, April 20, 2013

I'm on the road right now in Bulgaria (although this particular "road" is very winding, narrow, and full of rocks ... ) but for this post I couldn't help but notice the announcement from The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York that they will now be opening 7 days a week.

So I'll ask the question: Should a museum be open 7 days a week?

I have really mixed feelings about this. Certainly if you're a visitor or tourist, why shouldn't a museum be open as often as possible? I'm sure part of MoMA's decision is a financial one, but aren't there different kinds of "costs" that come from being open every day?

I'm thinking specifically about exhibits and building operations. Perhaps it's different in an Art Museum, but I know that in the hustle and bustle of interactive museums like science centers and children's museums, that it is very helpful, if not essential, to have a "non public" day to do building maintenance tasks and just put all the pieces back together again.

So what do you think? Should museums be a 7 day a week operation, or is there value for staff (and visitors!) for at least one "day of rest"? Tell us know your thoughts by clicking into the "Comments" Section below this post.

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Saturday, April 13, 2013

The Exploratorium, that Mecca of Museums, will be officially reopening at its new location on April 17th.

I'll bet that there are still lots of punch lists being completed at Pier 15 before that public opening, but I'll also bet that most of the people who work at the Exploratorium won't be thinking "Well, now we're done ..." Because the "new era" is just beginning.

But there's one important thing that the media and the visitors (including many museum professionals) might miss when they're walking around all googly-eyed visiting the new digs.

It's not the (multi)million dollar location, or the zippy new restaurants, or the spacious well-lit halls filled with (old and new) exhibits that are the primary things that will make the "new" Exploratorium a success. Instead, the most important thing at the Exploratorium is:

each personwho works or volunteers there.

Both in front of, and behind, the scenes.

Those "old timers" who carry some of the culture from The Palace of Fine Arts to the Piers, and those "new timers" and "future timers" who will be creating an evolving culture at the Exploratorium.

So I wish hearty and heartfelt congratulations to the many, many people who have worked so hard to make the
move happen! If all the rave pre-opening reviews on the InterWebs are
any indication, the "new" Explo is going to be a smash hit!

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(I've spoken with several museum folks recently who purchased 3D
printing gear and still have the goodies sitting in a box in a storage
closet because they can't sort out how to use them inside the museum,
not just behind the scenes ...)

There is no denying that the end result of creating a digital file (either by laser scanning or through software programs) and producing an actual usable object with a 3D printer is super. But the actual process of waiting for a 3D printer to produce that object is like watching paint (or plastic filament) dry.

Which is perhaps fine for a museum program, or a multi-session museum class, but are their ways to leverage the inherent "coolness" and flexibility of 3D printers in the rapid-response, "show me something now!" context of many interactive exhibition galleries?

So in this edition of The Exhibit Doctor, I'm asking for examples of successful exhibit-centered ways of using 3D printers.

Please share your successes, failures, and bright ideas in the "Comments" section below this post and I'll round them up to share in a follow-up posting.

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